BDA eyes Rs. 3,500 crore from betterment fees

BDA eyes Rs. 3,500 crore from betterment fees

Will target land notified but later dropped during formation of Arkavathi and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layouts

A cash-strapped Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is leaving no
stone unturned in its quest to mobilise revenue. Betterment fee seems to
be the latest buzzword among officials.

On Tuesday, the BDA board
decided to levy a betterment fee on the land initially notified but
later dropped during the formation of Arkavathi and Nadaprabhu
Kempegowda Layouts. This is expected to yield over Rs. 3,500 crore.

The
move comes even as the authority is moving fast to regularise over
3,000 acres of encroached BDA-notified land through which it hopes to
mop up over Rs. 4,000 crore. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had made an
announcement in this regard in the run-up to the 2015 BBMP polls. Now,
BDA has put up a note before the State cabinet. In this case, the
betterment fee is yet to be fixed.

Betterment fee

The
BDA has identified 2,262 acres dropped during formation of Arkavathi
Layout. It has fixed a betterment fee of Rs. 336/sqft, which will yield
Rs. 3,310.69 crore. This covers areas that were de-notified and dropped
during the re-do scheme in July 2014; the issue is mired in controversy
and legal disputes.

It has identified 610 acres dropped during the
formation of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout due to de-notification and
legal disputes, for which a betterment fee of Rs. 73.65/sqft has been
fixed. This is expected to yield Rs. 195.69 crore.

A senior land
acquisition officer said that the betterment fee was fixed based on a
formula devised by the BDA: it is a third of the hike in guidance value
of the land from the value when it was initially notified. The land
owners need to pay BDA the betterment fee when they seek a No Objection
Certificate for conversion of land use or apply for a development plan.
BDA will conduct an on-ground survey of these areas to identify parcels
already developed and issue demand notices for betterment fee.